Beginning Problems
by Besseria
Summary: Occurs right after 'Miracle'. Basically what Starscream has to go through in the first day and night when caring for Cloudwing while Knock Out recovers from the delivery in the med. bay.
1. Chapter 1

**This story takes place practically right after "Miracle".**

* * *

Starscream woke with a start, looking around quickly. For a minute there he had totally forgotten where he was but after a quick look around, he remembered that he had fallen into recharge on a chair in the med. bay. He rubbed at his optics, glancing over at Knock Out after. The red mech was still recovering so he was laying in one of the med. berths in recharge.

Starscream couldn't help but smile. The thing that he was still recovering from was the delivery of a sparkling the other day. Their sparkling. A red and white Seeker femme that they named Cloudwing.

The ex-Commander frowned. If it wasn't for Optimus Prime, Cloudwing wouldn't be with them. She would have still been delivered but she wouldn't of had a spark. She would have been just an empty husk.

A shiver went down his spinal strut at that thought. He honestly didn't know what he would have done if Cloudwing wasn't alive. He would grieve of course but Knock Out and him would probably end up trying for another later in the future.

He shook his helm. He shouldn't think about that right now. What mattered now was the fact that Cloudwing was alright.

The med. bay doors suddenly opened and Starscream flinched and looked to the door quickly when he heard crying, getting to his pedes when he saw Ratchet gesturing him to come out into the hall. The old medic was trying to cradle Cloudwing in his arms but she wouldn't stop squirming and crying rather loudly.

"Here, you try to calm her down," Ratchet said, sounding rather irritated as he held out Cloudwing to the ex-Decepticon once the med. bay door closed behind the Seeker.

Starscream took her from the medic quickly, "First of all, you're holding her wrong," he said, trying not to snap at the older mech as he held the much smaller Seeker against his chest, stroking her helm with a thumb-digit. "As sparklings, Seekers prefer laying on their front and side. Not their back. This is because their wings are still developing and thus are way more sensitive than older Seekers."

As he explained this, Cloudwing was calming down but was still making whimpering and hiccuping noises.

Ratchet sighed from relief, "Finally," he said and rubbed his audios. "I thought I was going to go deaf there for a second."

Starscream couldn't help but chuckle at the medic's torment, "Seeker sparkling cries are rather audio shattering, aren't they," he looked down at Cloudwing, wiping away her tears from one of her cheeks. "It's kind of like a defense mechanism for them since Seeker sparklings are known to be weaker than any other sparklings."

"Is that why Seekers are known to be rather protective over their sparklings and other sparklings?" Ratchet asked.

The Seeker was about to ask the old medic where he heard that but he then remembered that he told him the other day. He had said it as more of a warning for the medic when he was looking after Cloudwing. He nodded his helm, "That and we're just generally protective over them. There isn't any real reason why."

Cloudwing was calm for a second but she began to whimper again.

"Oh please, don't tell me she's going to start crying again," Ratchet asked, getting ready to cover his audios.

Starscream frowned, rubbing the side of her helm, "What's wrong?" he asked her, not really expecting her to understand him yet. The answer he got though was her grabbing one of his digits and clamping her mouth on the side of it, sucking on it lightly. She whined a little louder when she wasn't getting anything.

"It seems that she's hungry now," Ratchet said, shaking his helm.

Starscream looked up at him, "Have you given her any energon yet?" he asked.

Ratchet shook his helm, "No, not yet. When she was delivered she had a pretty full tank already so she was good for awhile. She hadn't cried at all before today."

The Seeker smiled, "I guess we have Knock Out to thank for that. He did pretty good at regulating is energon rations."

Ratchet took a scanner out of his subspace, "You better get her some energon now and make sure its low-grade. I need to go and check over my newest patients," he said and began walking down the hall.

Starscream frowned, "Wait, is she fine to be out of your care now?"

Ratchet turned enough to look at him over his shoulder, "Of course, why do you think I came all this way with her," he said and turned the corner.

Cloudwing began whining and the ex-Decepticon looked down at her. He patted her helm lightly as he turned to head the other way down the hall, "Let's get you your energon now."

Starscream carefully and quickly went down the hall, taking a lift down to one of the lower floors of Autobot headquarters. Once he got off the lift, he made his way towards the break room. He stopped just before the open doors and peeked inside. He looked over at every seat, seeing that the entire room was empty.

He let out a sigh of relief before walking in. He really didn't want to encounter the others right now because he knew that the Autobots would get really excited in seeing Cloudwing for the first time and he really didn't want the attention on her right now. Even though its been a couple days already since Cloudwing was delivered, she had been in Ratchet's care the entire time and only Starscream and Knock Out were permitted to see her.

Now, since she was out of the old medic's care, anyone can see her. Starscream grit his denta as he set the energon dispenser to low-grade, setting up a special bottle for sparklings. When the others get near, he can only guess that his protective Seeker programming is going to get in the way.

Once the bottle was done being filled with the low-grade energon, he picked it up along with a special cap and made his way to a seat in one of the corners of the break room. It was his seat, well, he had claimed it as his seat so he could sit as far from the others as possible. He didn't know how Knock Out was able to get used to all the Autobots.

He sat down in the seat and turned his attention on Cloudwing, settling her on her side. She was still whining. He twisted the lid on the bottle and brought it up to the small Seeker's mouth. She looked at it curiously, having no clue what it was but grabbed it anyway and clamped her mouth on the end.

Starscream took that moment to tilt the bottle once she started to suck on it. He couldn't help but smile at her reaction when she was getting some energon this time. She started sucking on it harder, wanting more and the Seeker pulled it away from her.

"If you're going to do that, you'll choke," he scolded. All he got from her was a whine and her little servos reaching for the bottle. He rolled his optics, "Fine," he said, bringing it back to her mouth where she immediately began to suck on the bottle. Starscream shook his helm, "Greedy little thing aren't you."

He watched her drink from the bottle, watching as her tiny servos gripped the side of it. After awhile, he began to hum quietly. He soon noticed that her optics were growing heavy and her grip on the bottle was loosening.

While he continued to hum, he carefully removed the bottle from her mouth. She didn't whine or cry for the bottle, her optics just blinked slowly and rather tiredly. The ex-Commander can only guess that she was already satisfied with the amount of energon that she had gotten. He looked at the bottle, noticing that she actually didn't have that much. Probably about half.

She's definitely going to be needing more later.

As he hummed and set the bottle on the table in front of him, he saw movement at the corner of his optic and glanced up. He froze instantly, watching as a couple Autobots walked in. His servos unconsciously went over to cover Cloudwing protectively. It was Wheeljack and... Jazz? Was it? Yea, that's his name.

Starscream stroked the side of Cloudwing's helm gently as he watched them walk to the energon dispenser, chatting up a storm. Wheeljack's back was facing him so he wasn't that worried about him but Jazz on the other hand. He kept watching them, mentally praying to Primus that they wouldn't see him and that they wouldn't notice.

They both reached for their now filled cubes from the dispenser and as Jazz lifted his to his mouth to take a drink, he glance in Starscream's direction for a second.

That's all it took and Jazz had to do a double-take, his optics going from the grey Seeker to the small red form that he was trying to hide under his servos back up at the Seeker. He did that again, his cube lowering from his mouth this time as a rather excited smile went across his features.

Starscream's optics widened, warnings blaring up on his internal HUD and it didn't help much when the black and white mech patted the white wrecker's shoulder, gesturing over at the Seeker.

Once the wrecker turned and saw Starscream holding the sparkling close to his chest, he swore that the warnings became louder and more urgent in his helm.

This was definitely not good.

* * *

**Decided that this is going to be a multi-chaptered story but I can only guess that it'll be somewhere between three and seven chapters long. Never actually planned how many that there will be.**

**Anyway, I finished drawing out some Cloudwing drawings so the link to it will be up on my profile.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

This wasn't good at all.

Wheeljack and Jazz started to make their way over and Starscream had to force himself to stay seated. He couldn't risk himself doing something that he may regret later. He rested one of his clawed servos on the table in front of him though, sending both of them a glare to see if they'll get the message.

The white wrecker sure noticed and hesitated in his steps slightly but Jazz on the other hand.

"Is that your sparkling?" the black and white mech asked as he literally plopped himself into the chair across from the Seeker, setting his cube on the table. "Come on, face him this way, I want to see."

Starscream's glare narrowed, "She's a 'her', not a 'him."

Wheeljack stepped closer, but remained standing. He smiled, "A femme? Wow, Screamer, you and Doc Knock did good."

Jazz snorted, "More than good, they did great. Now come on, face her this way. I want to get a good look at her."

Starscream watched them with a critical optic before convincing himself that as long as he held her, nothing would happen. He looked down at Cloudwing as he situated her in his arms so that she was facing the two Autobots without bothering her wings, slightly turning himself as well.

Cloudwing's optics were closed. She must of fallen into recharge while Starscream was watching the two bots.

Jazz put his elbows on the table, leaning forward slightly to put his servos on his cheeks as he smiled, "Awww, she's so cute," he cooed.

Wheeljack raised his cube to his lips to take a sip but smiled before hand, "Got to admit, you two made one cute sparkling and that's no lie."

Starscream's warnings eased up and his frame visibly relaxed. There was no threat here. None at all.

"Oh, oh, she's waking up," Jazz said rather excitedly.

Cloudwing's optics were indeed opening and Starscream could only guess that she was only in a light recharge, probably just napping. Her optics moved over to look over at the smiling Jazz.

"What's her name?" the white wrecker asked.

"Cloudwing," the ex-Commander responded him.

Jazz took a sip from his cube before doing a small wave at the small red and white Seeker, "Hi, Cloudwing," he cooed. Cloudwing's response was some curious chirping noises.

"Oooohhh, she makes the cutest noises," the black and white mech couldn't contain himself and the others could tell.

Wheeljack just shook his helm, "Makes you want to have a sparkling of your own."

"Then why don't you?" Jazz asked quickly, looking up at him.

Wheeljack stopped when he was about to drink from his cube. He frowned, rubbing his helm after, "I-I don't know if Arcee would want to right now. We only recently just got sparkbonded."

Starscream snorted, looking down at Cloudwing, raising a digit to her where she began to watch it with mild interest, "When Knock Out and I sparkbonded, we ended up creating Cloudwing at the same time."

"Yea, but that was unintentional," Wheeljack said.

"Are you calling her an accident?" the Seeker asked, trying not to snap at him.

The wrecker shook his helm, "You know that's not what I meant."

Jazz grinned, "Who cares. If she is, then she is the cutest and the most adorable accident ever," he cooed and then he started to make faces at her once she looked back at him.

Wheeljack sighed, "Okay, sorry if I was making it sound as if I was calling her an accident but its just I don't know if she's ready to have a sparkling yet."

"Why don't you just ask her? You never know, she may say yes."

Wheeljack glanced away, "Well, I guess."

"Oooh, Screamer, you should frag me right here right now."

Starscream and Wheeljack immediately looked at the black and white mech.

"What!?" Wheeljack gasped, almost choking on his energon.

The Seeker frowned, "Why?" he dared to ask.

Jazz didn't look up from watching Cloudwing stare back at him, "I want a Seeker sparkling. They're so cute and adorable and... hnng, I can't take it," his servos clenched into fists on the side of his helm.

Starscream just shook his helm, "Sorry, can't help you there. Why don't you ask Thundercracker or Skywarp? They may take up that offer."

"Oh yea, I forgot about them," Jazz said rather excitedly, downing a rather large amount of energon from his cube.

Wheeljack just shook his helm in disbelief, "I can't believe you asked Screamer to frag you."

Jazz just shrugged his shoulders.

Starscream glared slightly, "Can you two stop swearing around her. I don't want her first words to be something that would result in me getting smacked by Knock Out."

Jazz just waved it off with a servo, "She's still too young to be talking."

"You never know though," Starscream added.

Wheeljack shifted on his pedes, finishing off his cube, "I think I'll go now, I want to go and ask Arcee about having a sparkling."

Jazz had a thoughtful expression, "I guess I'll go too. I want to ask TC and Skywarp if they'll like to have Seeker sparklings with me."

Starscream raised a brow, "Both of them?"

Jazz stood out of his seat, finishing off his own cube, shrugging his shoulders with a grin, "What can I say, more the merrier."

The wrecker snorted, "Sometimes I worry about you."

Jazz lifted a digit, "Oh, I got a better idea. I'll take one and I'll ask Blaster if he'll like to take the other."

The Seeker shook his helm, "How do you know that will even work? What if he's already found someone? Better yet, what if Thundercracker and Skywarp already found somebody?"

Jazz walked towards the door, tossing the empty cube into a bin labeled 'used', "Doesn't hurt to ask."

Wheeljack shook his helm and tossed his cube into the bin as well as he followed after the smaller mech.

"Good luck with Arcee," Starscream called after the wrecker and all he got was a wave over his shoulder.

Starscream let out a tired sigh and looked down at Cloudwing. He smiled, "Good thing you're still way too young to understand relationships and all that we were just talking about."

Cloudwing just chirped before sticking her finger-digits in her mouth.

The ex-Commander snorted, "That's what I thought."

He got to his pedes and grabbed the bottle, subspacing it for later. Just as other Autobots started to walk in, ones that he did not know, he left through a different door from the one he entered.

Cloudwing has had enough attention for one day.

He looked up in time to see a couple bots walking down the hall towards him. He stepped to the side, hiding Cloudwing under his servos as he went by them. He could tell that they were neutrals and he couldn't help but thank Ratchet for removing his Decepticon sigil awhile ago.

He honestly had no idea where he was going but he was thinking that he should take Cloudwing to his and Knock Out's quarters. They did after all recently add a crib for Cloudwing to recharge in. Not only was the crib new but the whole quarters was new. They had moved there a couple days after the All Spark was returned to the Well. Knock Out's previous quarters was pretty cramped when it was the two of them, especially the berth and it would have gotten more cramped once Cloudwing was delivered.

Their new and current quarters is way better and has much more room. But Starscream had been discussing with the red medic lately about moving again to something that was more of an apartment than quarters.

Knock Out had agreed with him but they were going to wait until later. How much later? Starscream did not know but he hoped that it would be soon.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't see the two bots coming in his direction.

"Oh, hey Starscream," a cheery voice snapped him out of his thoughts, causing him to flinch and stop in his tracks. He finally saw that Bumblebee was practically running up to him with Soundwave trying to keep pace with the smaller mech.

Starscream's warnings popped up again. This was just fragging great.

* * *

**I want Jazz to be paired with someone but I don't know who. Thundercracker? Skywarp? Blaster? Another G1 character? An OC? I really don't know. Any ideas so I can possibly add it to "It's Not Always Easy".  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**I got quite a number of suggestions of who Jazz could be with. Skywarp seems the most popular next to Thundercracker. I'll let you guys keep choosing though.**

**By the way, if you hadn't noticed, I posted the wrong first chapter for "First Time For Everything". It's all fixed now, had a little mix up with this story's first chapter. XD**

* * *

Starscream was getting a little fed up with not only the constant popping up of his protective Seeker protocols but also the constant appearance of Autobots. Right now it was just one Autobot, which was Bumblebee, and Soundwave. Apparently the two were dating.

Starscream couldn't help but question, in his own thoughts, what Soundwave sees in the yellow mech.

He stood and waited for the two to practically run up to him. Well, it was more of Bumblebee running and Soundwave trying to keep up with longer strides.

"I haven't seen you or Knock Out yet since before the delivery. Where is Knock Out anyway?" the scout asked.

"I'm guessing that he's still recovering?" Soundwave then added.

Starscream nodded his helm, still not used to the fact that the once silent mech has been talking a lot more since the war ended. He felt Cloudwing squirm under his servos, "Ratchet says that he should be able to leave the med. bay tomorrow morning," he informed them, trying to rearrange his digits to try and hide the sparkling better.

"Hopefully he feels better soon," Bumblebee said and glanced at the ex-Decepticon's rather fidgety digits. "What's that in your servos?"

"N-nothing."

Soundwave frowned, "Are you trying to sneak something away?"

"No," Starscream grumbled.

A rather annoyed sounding chirp came from under the Seeker's servos and Starscream groaned. He was really hoping that he could bypass them without showing the sparkling off.

"Wait! Is that... " Bumblebee began.

Starscream sighed, "Yes," he simply said and removed his servos from covering Cloudwing. The sparkling immediately looked over at the newcomers once her vision wasn't blocked by the larger servos anymore.

Bumblebee smiled brightly, "Aww, she's so cute."

Starscream rolled his optics, "That's what Jazz said."

"Why were you trying to hide her?" Soundwave then asked.

The ex-Commander shifted Cloudwing in his servos better, "I'm trying to take her to mine and Knock Out's quarters without interruptions. I believe she's met enough bots for one day."

"How many would that be?"

"Two, wait, make that five if I'm counting Ratchet and you two as well," Starscream responded.

Soundwave shook his helm, "Nonsense, she needs to meet more bots."

"Have you shown her to Wheeljack and Arcee yet?" Bumblebee asked. "They need to be convinced to start having sparklings."

"I haven't shown her to Arcee yet but I did show her to Wheeljack. He has already decided that he wants a sparkling now but he doesn't know if Arcee wants one yet. He had gone to ask her shortly before I left the break room," the grey Seeker explained.

"Well its about time they start having sparklings," Bumblebee laughed. "What's your sparkling's name by the way?"

"Cloudwing."

Bumblebee fidgeted a bit, "Can... can I hold her?"

Starscream frowned, his warnings blaring a little louder, "I-I don't think..."

"Aww, come on, please. I promise I'll be gentle," Bumblebee pleaded.

Starscream rolled his optics, "Fine, but..." he raised a digit, giving the scout a glare, "... if you drop her or make her cry at all..."

"You'll rip me to shreds. I know, I know," Bumblebee finished for him, holding out his servos after. "Primus, I didn't think you could be so protective."

Starscream carefully handed Cloudwing over to the shorter mech, watching how the scout held the Seeker sparkling. He nodded approvingly; the scout was holding her properly, a way that wouldn't hurt her still growing wing nubs.

Cloudwing looked between Bumblebee and Starscream worriedly, unsure of what to do. Her expression changed immediately and she started to whine.

Starscream frowned, his protocols practically screaming at him to take her back from him. He took a step forward but stopped when Bumblebee lifted a digit.

"Hold on a second," he said, seeing the warning glare the Seeker was giving him. He held the small Seeker against his chest, bouncing her lightly as he stroked the back of her helm gently.

Cloudwing's whining died down after awhile and Starscream was surprised. His warnings stopped and he didn't see Bumblebee as a potential threat anymore. He watched Soundwave raise a servo to the red and white sparkling, gaining her attention. Her gaze followed his servo and once it was close enough, she reached out and grabbed one of his digits.

Starscream smiled at the sight. His smile soon turned to a smirk, "You two should have a sparkling."

Soundwave's helm quickly turned to the Seeker, mouth open in shock, "Wh-what... I... I...," he stuttered, his faceplate blushing heavily.

Bumblebee shook his helm quickly at the Seeker, his faceplate blushing as well, "The thought may be pleasing but we're not ready right now. We haven't even sparkbonded yet."

Starscream grinned, "It's a thought. Knock Out did say that you two would make great sparkling-sitters. Even Jazz is thinking about getting in the action."

"Jazz? But he's not with anyone right now."

Starscream snorted, "That's not going to stop him. He has already gone off somewhere in search of Thundercracker and Skywarp."

Soundwave frowned, "Why them?"

"Because after seeing Cloudwing, he has officially decided that he wants a Seeker sparkling of his own. He has gone to ask one of them if they'll have Seeker sparklings with him," Starscream explained, finding the whole thought rather amusing.

"Really?" Bumblebee asked and at the Seeker's nod of his helm, he smiled. "Well, that's Jazz for you."

Cloudwing began to whine again and she looked towards Starscream, reaching out to him.

"I think its about time Cloudwing returns to her Sire," Soundwave said with a light chuckle.

Bumblebee took that moment to pass the sparkling over to Starscream's ready servos where the Seeker proceeded to hold her against his chest after.

Cloudwing clutched against Starscream's frame, whining until the ex-Commander gently rubbed the back of her helm.

"We better let you get back on your way. You did say you wanted to take Cloudwing to your quarters," Bumblebee said.

Starscream nodded his helm, "Yeah, I did."

Soundwave smiled, "Not unless you get interrupted again on the way."

Bumblebee laughed, "Yeah, that's true," he then took the slender mech's servo. "See you later Starscream."

Soundwave nodded his helm to the Seeker before practically being dragged by the yellow scout down the hall.

Starscream shook his helm. He still couldn't believe those two were dating now. He looked down at Cloudwing as he began his trek back down the hall, watching as her optics began to droop heavily. He smiled, "Yeah, I think its about time you had went to recharge. You had a rather busy day, meeting new bots."

Cloudwing just chirped tiredly, her optics closing. Starscream could hear her systems slowly powering down into recharge mode. He smiled down at her, rubbing the side of her helm to help her recharge.

He turned the next corner, knowing that that hall will take him towards where all the quarters were being held. After awhile of walking, he was just about to come up to his and Knock Out's shared quarters when a voice made him stop.

"Yo Star, where have you been?" Skywarp's rather cheery voice rang out.

Oh for frag's sake. Why won't anyone just leave him be?

* * *

**Starscream can never catch a break.**


	4. Chapter 4

First it was Wheeljack and Jazz.

Then it was Bumblebee and Soundwave.

Now it was Skywarp and Thundercracker.

Starscream rolled his optics to the ceiling, mouthing the words 'why me?' before turning around to face his trinemates, "What do you want?"

The two Seekers halted in their steps, getting in defensive positions, "I-is that your sparkling?" Thundercracker carefully asked.

Starscream raised a brow in a rather confused manner, "Yeah."

"H-how are you feeling?" Skywarp then asked, still in a very cautious stance.

Starscream was about to question what was going on but he then had a moment of realization. He smiled, "I'm not going to attack you two so you can quit the stances. My warnings aren't even up. Primus, you two are my trinemates. I trust you more than anyone else," he paused. "Well, except Knock Out. I trust him even more."

The trineleader's trinemembers visibly relaxed out of their stances, walking closer to the grey Seeker.

"Thank Primus. I've been worried about what you would do to us if we ever got near the sparkling after it was delivered," Skywarp explained.

"We were pretty sure that you would attack us," the blue Seeker added.

"Well, my warnings have been rather active in the pass hour or so because I've had some run-ins with some Autobots and Soundwave. But after seeing that there was no potential threat from them, my warnings have calmed down," Starscream explained.

Thundercracker nodded his helm, "That's good."

Skywarp stepped closer up to their trine's leader, "Is the sparkling recharging?"

Starscream nodded his helm, "Yes, she is. She's had a rather busy day meeting new bots and having her first taste of low-grade energon."

Skywarp stepped even closer, excitement radiating from him, "It's a femme!?"

Cloudwing's faceplate scrunched up before she let out a whine.

Skywarp flinched back at the ex-Commander's glare. He smiled sheepishly, "Oops, sorry."

The small red and white Seeker's optics opened tiredly then and she began whining again. Starscream took that moment to bounce her gently and shush her softly by her audio, coaxing her to fall back into recharge. She stopped whining but her optics were still half opened, blinking slowly as recharge tried to grab at her again.

Thundercracker shook his helm, smirking, "Seeing you in caring Sire mode is weird."

Starscream chuckled, "Well, you're going to have to get used to it since you're going to be seeing more of it."

"What's her name?" the purple Seeker asked.

"Cloudwing," the ex-Commander responded then grinned, glancing up at his fellow trinemembers. "Have you encountered Jazz yet?"

Thundercracker groaned, rolling his optics. Skywarp just snorted, stifling his laugh behind his servo that he placed over his mouth.

"I'll take that as a yes," the grey Seeker laughed.

Thundercracker shook his helm, "I honestly don't know what to think about the whole idea."

"Having our own sparklings sounds like a good idea but there is only one problem," the purple Seeker said, lifting a digit.

Starscream frowned, "What is it?"

Skywarp shifted uneasily on his pedes, "There is two of us and one of him."

"What about Blaster? Jazz mentioned that he was going to ask him if he would like to date one of you if he dates the other," the ex-Commander explained.

"But what if Blaster doesn't go with the idea. I don't want to be left out," Skywarp said sadly, his wings lowering to match his mood.

Thundercracker placed a servo on the shorter Seeker's shoulder, "Hey, you're not going to be left out."

"Yes I will," the purple Seeker said, lowering his helm. "I never did have any luck in keeping a relationship, even before the war. What makes this time any different?"

"Because this time I'll make sure that you'll get a date before me," the larger Seeker said with a smile.

Skywarp's mood didn't change, "Even if you do, how would you know that my date will like having me for company."

"Come on, in my opinion, you and Jazz are perfect for each other," Starscream added.

Skywarp kicked at an imaginary rock, "I don't know," he said then looked up at Thundercracker. "What about you TC? Don't you want to have sparklings?"

Thundercracker nodded his helm, "Yes but right now I'm more worried about you not getting any."

"So if Blaster doesn't go with the idea, you'll let Skywarp date Jazz?" Starscream asked.

Thundercracker nodded his helm, "Even if Blaster does agree, I'll let Jazz date Skywarp anyway and I'll date Blaster," he said then pointed a digit at the black and purple Seeker. "If it all works out, you're going to have a sparkling before me. Got it?"

Skywarp couldn't help but smile, nodding his helm as his wings raised back into their original position, "I got it."

"Good."

Starscream shook his helm, smiling, "You're still going to have to wait until Blaster decides or not."

Skywarp frowned, looking back at the blue Seeker, "Wait, what would you do if Blaster decides not to go with Jazz's idea?"

Thundercracker shrugged his shoulders, "Then I'll wait until I meet someone else. I can wait," he said then looked at their trineleader. "And if you need any help at all, when caring for Cloudwing, don't hesitate to call us. We'll always be there to help out our fellow trinemember."

"You can always count on us," Skywarp added.

Starscream looked down at Cloudwing, seeing that she had fallen into a deep recharge, her wing nubs twitching lightly from whatever she was dreaming about. He smiled, stroking her helm lightly. He looked back up at them, "Thanks."

"We better leave you alone now so you can put her to berth properly," Thundercracker said, watching as one of Cloudwing's servos clenched then unclenched.

Skywarp smiled, "Watching her makes me want to have my own now."

Starscream chuckled, "Then Jazz is perfect for you. He practically said the same thing."

Thundercracker snorted, "Even I think he's perfect for you."

Skywarp put his servos behind his back, his faceplate blushing slightly as he looked down at his pedes, "If you say so."

Thundercracker placed a servo on the purple Seeker's shoulder, pushing him lightly passed their trineleader, "Come on, let's leave Star to care for his sparkling."

Skywarp waved over his shoulder, "See a later Star."

Starscream watched them walk away, glaring, "I said for you guys to not call me that."

His two trinemembers just laughed as they walked down the hall.

Starscream shook his helm and walked back down the rest of the hall towards his quarters. As he typed in the code, he couldn't help but feel relieved that he can finally put Cloudwing in her crib.

He chuckled to himself once the door slid open, feeling rather exhausted. He guessed that he was going to need to go to recharge himself.

* * *

**Hmm, after much consideration and seeing everyone's choices, I decided to pair Jazz with Skywarp. Mostly just because I can't see Skywarp with Blaster and the other reason being it was the most popular choice. **

**Anyway, the next chapter is going to be the last chapter. Most likely will be longer than the previous chapters. Don't know when it'll be posted though; either tomorrow or on Monday since I'm going to be camping this weekend.**


	5. Chapter 5

**HA! I have returned!**

**Here's the last chapter.**

* * *

Once the door to the quarters closed behind him, Starscream wandered towards a crib that was put at the end of the berth. Since Cloudwing was already in a deep recharge, he gently and carefully lowered the small Seeker into the crib so he didn't wake her. She was laid down on her front and the ex-Commander draped a small blanket over her that was already in the crib.

After tucking the sides under her so she would stay nice and warm, he took that moment to just watch her in content silence.

He smiled, watching her frame rise and fall ever so slightly. He still couldn't believe that the small red and white Seeker femme before him was his. Made up of both Knock Out's and his own CNA.

It wasn't hard to notice either that she belonged to them. Seeker model like himself, frame is in the same colour range as Knock Out's, frame has some similar characteristics that you would see on both her creators.

She was perfect in the ex-Commander's optics.

Starscream let out a tired sigh, feeling his exhaustion trying to grab at him. He wandered around the crib to walk up beside his and Knock Out's shared berth. He was about to plop himself in it but stopped himself at the last minute. He didn't know if the motion would wake Cloudwing or not so he settled himself down carefully before laying on his side.

He looked over at Knock Out's side of the berth. Its been almost a week now since the delivery and in that time the red medic had to stay in the med. bay to recharge so he could recover. The nights were getting rather lonely lately for the Seeker without the red mech's company.

He closed his optics so he could fall into recharge, hoping that Knock Out was well enough to leave the med. bay by tomorrow morning.

* * *

Starscream was abruptly wakened by a loud cry. He groaned, rolling over and covering his audios to drone out the noise. He checked his chronometer for a second, seeing that he had only gotten a few hours of recharge.

He swore the cry was growing louder. Who could be crying at this hour of the night?

After a second, Starscream's optics flew open and he got to his pedes quickly. He got to the end of the berth and looked in the crib, seeing Cloudwing squirming and crying. He instantly took her out of the crib and held her close to his frame, finding that her own frame was rather cold.

As he held her to keep her warm, he glanced into the crib. He saw that the blanket was at the end of the crib. He shook his helm, bouncing her lightly to help her calm down, "You knocked the blanket off yourself in your recharge. No wonder you're cold."

He walked over to a nearby table, removing another small blanket from the top of it. He went back to the crib and tossed it in. He then began to pace back and forth in front of the crib, shushing Cloudwing softly.

Her cries settled down to the point that she was making hiccuping noises every couple seconds.

Starscream smiled, shaking his helm. He reached up to her faceplate with a digit and wiped her tears from her cheeks. Her optics opened after and she looked up at him, still making hiccuping noises.

"Its okay, you're fine now," the ex-Decepticon said softly to her.

Cloudwing's wing nubs twitched and she stuck her thumb-digit in her mouth.

"No, don't do that," Starscream said and tugged on her servo just enough so her thumb-digit was removed from her mouth. She instantly began to whine after.

Starscream went into his subspace after, removing something just to stick it into the small Seeker's mouth.

Cloudwing sucked on the soother that she was given and soon enough her optics began to droop tiredly.

Starscream nodded to himself, feeling like he accomplished a mission as he reached into the crib. He took out the new blanket, which was thicker than the other, before wrapping it around the small Seeker's frame enough so there would be no way that she could remove it off herself as he laid her back into the crib.

He watched her until she fell into recharge. Feeling satisfied, he wandered back to his berth, laying down. He let out a tired sigh and closed his optics. Wondering if this would happen every night.

He settled with 'not every night' before falling into recharge again.

* * *

Starscream almost swore loudly when Cloudwing began crying again. As he got to his pedes, he checked his chronometer. Last time he only got about three hours of recharge. This time it was only two.

He took Cloudwing out of the crib, "What's the matter?" he asked, not really expecting her to actually answer.

All she did though was to continue to cry, even as he bounced her. He picked up the soother that she must have spitted out just before she started crying and put it back into her mouth. Once it was in her mouth, her cries stopped.

Starscream let out a relieved sigh.

Cloudwing sucked on it a couple times before whining, spitting it out to cry louder.

The ex-Commander winced from the crying. Now what could be the problem this time?

He reached up to wipe her tears away but stopped when she managed to get one of her arms loose from the blanket to grab onto one of his digits. She then proceeded to clamp her mouth on it.

Starscream chuckled softly when she sucked on his digit but then began whining after, "So that's what you want."

He went into his subspace and took out the sparkling bottle that still had energon in it. He looked in it, seeing that the left over energon in it was still good. He brought it up to the small red and white Seeker, waiting for her to clamp her mouth on the end before tipping it.

As she began sucking on it, he paced back and forth as she drank. Just as the bottle was finished of the last of the energon that was in it, Cloudwing's optics began to lower.

Starscream removed the bottle from her mouth without a fight, subspacing it after. He stopped pacing, rubbing the side of her helm to coax her back into recharge. Soon enough, she did.

After fixing the blanket that was still around her, he lowered her back into the crib. Once she was settled, he tried not to plop on the berth as he laid back down. He didn't bother to move or think about anything before falling almost immediately into recharge.

* * *

"Oh for the love of..." Starscream growled, being wakened, once again, by Cloudwing's cries. He had no doubt that every night was going to be like this as he checked his chronometer, seeing that this time he had only an hour of recharge.

During each time he got woken up, his Seeker protocols would scream at him to care for her. This time, his frame decided to protest and he had to force himself to sit up, get out of berth, get to his pedes, and walk over to the crib at the end of the berth.

Once again he looked in the crib, seeing Cloudwing squirming around as she cried.

He rubbed at his optics tiredly, "What is it this time?" he asked, reaching into the crib to pick her up. He held her close and bounced her, her crying stopping almost immediately before her frame began to relax.

Starscream was confused this time, settling her back into the crib.

Before he got a chance to sit down on his berth, he heard Cloudwing whining. He rolled his optics, going back over to pick her up and hold her close.

Once he had her comfortably against his frame, her whining stopped and she started to drift back into recharge.

He tried to lower her back into the crib but she would stir, stopping him from doing that. He walked to his berth and sat down, holding her close as she began recharging again. He could only guess that she wanted to be held this time as she recharged.

Starscream's optics blinked slowly, his frame and optics growing heavy from exhaustion. He really needed his own recharge but he couldn't do it with her in his arms.

His optics drifted close and he had to shake himself to keep himself awake. He knew that taking care of a sparkling was hard work but he didn't think it would be this hard, where you end up losing quite a few hours of much needed recharge.

He rubbed at his optics before deciding to lay on his side for a bit, propping himself up with his elbow and resting his helm in the palm of his servo. He laid Cloudwing on the berth in front of him, keeping a servo on her so she knew that he was there and so she wouldn't wake again.

As he watched her, his optics became heavy and he let them drift close this time. He guessed that it wouldn't hurt if he rested for a couple minutes.

* * *

Knock Out walked down the hall towards his and Starscream's shared quarters. He was just recently relieved from the med. bay by Ratchet and he spent the last hour waiting for Starscream to show up with Cloudwing. When he never showed up, he decided to make his way to their shared quarters on his own.

After stopping at the break room to get some much needed energon and chatting a bit with the other bots, he made his way down the hall where all the quarters resided. He mentally thanked Primus for the fact that his frame had went back to its original shape and didn't leave any permanent damage like warped plating from when his abdomen grew. Even Arcee had commented on how well he looked.

He grinned to himself. The praise from the two-wheeler gave him the much needed boost to go on his day. Boosted his pride quite a bit as well. Probably ended up stroking his ego too.

He took a minute to look down at the Megatron/Megatronus plushie that he had in his servo. He shook his helm as he got to the door, putting in the code to let the door slide open.

"Starscream, Ratchet forgot to give you the Megatron doll that was left in the recovery chamber. I don't think Cloudwing would have wanted to recharge without..." he stopped in the middle of the quarters, seeing the sight on the berth.

He walked closer and couldn't help but smile.

Starscream was in a deep recharge, his helm laying on his arm while his other arm laid limply and rather protectively around Cloudwing.

Knock Out could only guess that the ex-Commander was up all night taking care of the small red and white Seeker.

He reached out to Cloudwing so he could rest a servo on her helm. After feeling her squirm, he carefully removed her from Starscream's protective hold. He held her close and she looked up at him with wide optics, making chirping noises.

Just by how lively she looked right now, the red medic could tell that she had been awake for awhile now. He was rather surprised that she didn't wake the Seeker. He could only guess that she felt rather content being in the ex-Commander's hold.

Knock Out smiled down at her, holding up the Megatron plushie. Seeing the rather excited look go across the small Seeker's face made the red mech chuckle lightly. She began reaching for it and he brought it close enough to her so she could grab it and hug it. A muffled squeak came from the doll.

Knock Out looked over at Starscream then, seeing that he didn't wake from his recharge yet. He smiled and leaned forward, planting a light kiss against the Seeker's forehelm before getting to his pedes, wandering back towards the door.

"I think its time to let your Sire recharge in peace while I take you to meet the others," Knock Out said rather happily just as the door slid close behind him. Cloudwing chirped, another squeak coming from the Megatron doll as she hugged it.

* * *

**It'll be awhile before I start posting "It's Not Always Easy" because I want to type up at least the first ten chapters before I do that. In the meantime though, I'll be posting "First Time For Everything"  
**


End file.
